List of rock types
A list of all unique rock types recognized by petrologists. Names of non-rock types and archaic rock types are given as appendices. Igneous vesicules filled with zeolite. Diameter of view is 8 cm.]] : Andesite - an Intermediate volcanic rock : Anorthosite - an intrusive igneous felsic rock composed predominantly of plagioclase : Aplite - a very fine grained intrusive igneous rock : Basalt - a volcanic rock of mafic composition :: Adakite - a class of basaltic rocks containing low yttrium and ytterbium :: Hawaiite - a class of basalts formed from ocean island (hot spot) magmatism. : Basanite - a volcanic rock of mafic composition; essentially a silica undersaturated basalt : Boninite - a high-magnesian basalt dominated by pyroxene : Carbonatite - a rare igneous rock composed of >50% carbonate minerals : Charnockite - a type of granite containing pyroxene :: Enderbite - a variety of charnockite : Dacite - a felsic to intermediate volcanic rock with high iron content : Diabase or dolerite - an intrusive mafic rock forming dykes or sills : Diorite - a coarse grained intermediate plutonic rock composed of plagioclase, pyroxene and/or amphibole : Dunite - a phaneritic ultramafic rock composed of more than 90% olivine, usually forsteritic : Essexite - a silica undersaturated mafic plutonic rock (essentially a foid-bearing gabbro) : Foidolite - a plutonic igneous rock composed of >90% feldspathoid minerals : Gabbro - a coarse grained plutonic rock composed of pyroxene and plagioclase basically equivalent to basalt : Granite - a coarse grained plutonic rock composed of orthoclase, plagioclase and quartz : Granodiorite - a granitic plutonic rock with plagioclase > orthoclase : Granophyre - a subvolcanic intrusive rock of granitic composition : Harzburgite - a variety of peridotite; an ultramafic cumulate rock : Hornblendite - a mafic or ultramafic cumulate rock dominated by >90% hornblende : Hyaloclastite - a volcanic rock composed primarily of glasses and glassy tuff : Icelandite - a volcanic rock : Ignimbrite - a fragmental volcanic rock : Ijolite - a very rare silica-undersaturated plutonic rock : Kimberlite - a rare ultramafic, ultrapotassic volcanic rock and a source of diamonds : Komatiite - an ancient ultramafic volcanic rock : Lamproite - an ultrapotassic volcanic rock : Lamprophyre - an ultramafic, ultrapotassic intrusive rock dominated by mafic phenocrysts in a feldspar groundmass : Latite - a silica undersaturated form of andesite : Lherzolite - an ultramafic rock, essentially a peridotite : Monzogranite - a silica undersaturated granite with <5% normative quartz : Monzonite - a plutonic rock with <5% normative quartz : Nepheline syenite - a silica undersaturated plutonic rock with nepheline replacing orthoclase : Nephelinite - a silica undersaturated plutonic rock with >90% nepheline : Norite - a hypersthene bearing gabbro : Obsidian - a type of volcanic glass :Pegmatite - an igneous rock (or metamorphic rock) with giant sized crystals : Peridotite - a plutonic or cumulate ultramafic rock composed of olivine and pyroxene : Phonolite - a silica undersaturated volcanic rock; essentially similar to nepheline syenite : Picrite - an olivine-bearing basalt : Porphyry - a rock, usually granitic, with a porphyritic texture : Pumice - a fine grained, extremely vesicular volcanic rock : Pyroxenite - a coarse grained plutonic rock composed of >90% pyroxene : Quartz diorite - a diorite with >5% modal quartz : Quartz monzonite - an intermediate plutonic rock, essentially a monzonite with 5-10% modal quartz : Rhyodacite - a felsic volcanic rock which is intermediate between a rhyolite and a dacite : Rhyolite - a felsic volcanic rock :: Comendite - a peralkaline rhyolite :: Pantellerite - an alkaline rhyolite-rhyodacite with amphibole phenocrysts : Scoria - an extremely vesicular mafic volcanic rock : Sovite - a coarse grained carbonatite rock : Syenite - a plutonic rock dominated by orthoclase feldspar; a type of granitoid : Tachylyte - essentially a basaltic glass : Tephrite - a silica undersaturated volcanic rock : Tonalite - a plagioclase-dominant granitoid : Trachyandesite - an alkaline intermediate volcanic rock :: Benmoreite - sodic trachyandesite :: Basaltic trachyandesite ::: Mugearite - sodic basaltic trachyandesite ::: Shoshonite - potassic basaltic trachyandesite : Trachyte - a silica undersaturated volcanic rock; essentially a feldspathoid-bearing rhyolite : Troctolite - a plutonic ultramafic rock containing olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase : Trondhjemite - a form of tonalite where plagioclase-group feldspar is oligoclase : Tuff - a fine grained volcanic rock formed from volcanic ash : Websterite - a type of pyroxenite, composed of clinoproxene and orthopyroxene : Wehrlite - an ultramafic plutonic or cumulate rock, a type of peridotite, composed of olivine and clinopyroxene Sedimentary ]] overlaid by limestone. Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee]] : Argillite - a sedimentary rock composed primarily of clay-sized particles : Arkose - a sedimentary rock similar to sandstone : Banded iron formation - a fine grained chemical sedimentary rock composed of iron oxide minerals : Breccia - a sedimentary or tectonic rock composed of fragments of other, broken rocks : Chalk - a sedimentary rock composed primarily of coccolith fossils : Chert - a fine grained chemical sedimentary rock composed of silica : Claystone - a sedimentary rock formed from clay : Coal - a sedimentary rock formed from organic matter : Conglomerate - a sedimentary rock composed of large rounded fragments of other rocks :: Diamictite - a poorly sorted conglomerate : Coquina - a sedimentary carbonate rock formed by accumulation of abundant shell fossils and fragments : Diatomite - a sedimentary rock formed from diatom fossils : Dolomite or dolostone - a carbonate rock composed of the mineral dolomite +/- calcite : Evaporite - a chemical sedimentary rock formed by accumulation of minerals after evaporation : Flint - a form of chert : Greywacke - an immature sandstone with quartz, feldspar and rock fragments within a clay matrix : Gritstone - essentially a coarse sandstone formed from small pebbles : Itacolumite - porous, yellow sandstone : Jaspillite - an iron-rich chemical sedimentary rock similar to chert or banded iron formation : Laterite - a residual sedimentary rock formed from a parent rock under tropical conditions : Lignite - a sedimentary rock composed of organic material; otherwise known as Brown Coal : Limestone - a sedimentary rock composed primarily of carbonate minerals : Marl - a limestone with a considerable proportion of silicate material : Mudstone - a sedimentary rock composed of clay and muds : Oil shale - a sedimentary rock composed dominantly of organic material : Oolite - a chemical sedimentary limestone : Rock Gypsum- : Sandstone - a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size : Shale - a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size : Siltstone - a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size : Travertine - a sedimentary rock containing calcite and iron oxides : Turbidite - a particular sequence of sedimentary rocks which form within the deep ocean environment : Wackestone - a matrix-supported carbonate sedimentary rock. Metamorphic of granite orthogneiss]] : Anthracite - a type of coal : Amphibolite - a metamorphic rock composed primarily of amphibole : Blueschist - a metamorphic rock composed of sodic amphiboles with a distinct blue color : Cataclasite - a rock formed by faulting : Eclogite - an ultra-high grade metamorphosed basalt or gabbro; also a facies of metamorphic rocks : Gneiss - a coarse grained metamorphic rock : Gossan - the product of the weathering of a sulfide rock or ore body : Granulite - a high grade metamorphic rock formed from basalt; also a facies of metamorphic rocks : Greenschist - a mafic metamorphic rock dominated by green amphiboles :: Greenstone : Hornfels - a metamorphic rock formed by heating by an igneous rock : Marble - a metamorphosed limestone : Migmatite - a high grade metamorphic rock verging upon melting into a magma : Mylonite - a metamorphic rock formed by shearing : Metapelite - a metamorphic rock with a protolith of clay-rich (siltstone) sedimentary rock : Phyllite - a low grade metamorphic rock composed mostly of micaceous minerals : Metapsammite - a metamorphic rock with a protolith of quartz-rich (sandstone) sedimentary rock : Pseudotachylite - a glass formed by melting within a fault via friction : Quartzite - a metamorphosed sandstone typically composed of >95% quartz : Schist - a low to medium grade metamorphic rock : Serpentinite - a metamorphosed ultramafic rock dominated by serpentine minerals : Skarn - a metasomatic rock : Slate - a low grade metamorphic rock formed from shale or silts : Suevite - a rock formed by partial melting during a meteorite impact : Talc carbonate - a metamorphosed ultramafic rock with talc as an essential constituent; similar to a serpentinite :: Soapstone - essentially a talc schist : Whiteschist - a high pressure metamorphic rock containing talc + kyanite Specific varieties of rocks The following are terms for rocks that are not petrographically or genetically distinct but are defined according to various other criteria; most are specific classes of other rocks, or altered versions of existing rocks. Some archaic and vernacular terms for rocks are also included. : Adamellite - a variety of quartz monzonite : Appinite - a group of varieties of lamprophyre, mostly rich in hornblende : Aphanite - an aphanitic felsic volcanic rock which confounds identification via optical means : Borolanite - a variety of nepheline syenite from Loch Borralan, Scotland : Blue Granite - essentially larvikite, a monzonite : Epidosite - a type of metasomatite; essentially altered basalt : Felsite - an aphanitic felsic volcanic rock which confounds identification via optical means : Flint - typically a form of chert, jasper, or tuff : Ganister - a Cornish term for a palaeosol formed on sandstone : Ijolite - a silica-undersaturated plutonic rock associated with nepheline syenites : Jadeitite - a very rare rock formed by concentration of jadeite pyroxene; a form of serpentinite : Jasperoid - a hematite-silica metasomatite analogous to a skarn : Kenyte - a variety of phonolite, first found on Mount Kenya : Vogesite - a variety of lamprophyre : Larvikite - a variety of monzonite with microperthitic ternary feldspars from Larvik, Norway : Litchfieldite - a metamorphosed nepheline syenite occurrence near Litchfield, Maine : Luxullianite - a tourmaline-bearing granite with a peculiar texture, occurring at Luxulyan, Cornwall, England : Mangerite - a hypersthene-bearing monzonite : Minette - a variety of lamprophyre : Novaculite - a chert formation found in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas : Pyrolite - a chemical analogue considered to theoretically represent the earth's upper mantle : Rapakivi granite - a granite which exhibits the peculiar rapakivi texture : Rhomb porphyry - a type of latite with euhedral rhombic phenocrysts of feldspar : Shonkinite - melitilic and kalsititic rocks : Taconite - banded iron formation, primarily used in the United States of America : Teschenite - essentially a silica undersaturated, analcime bearing gabbro : Theralite - essentially a nepheline gabbro : Variolite - devitrified glass See also * List of minerals * List of rocks on Mars * Rock cycle * Rock formation: for a list of unusual or culturally significant rock outcrops. External links * British Geological Survey * Igneous rock classification * Classification of common rocks and soils * Metamorphic Rock Classification * Volcanic rocks * Earth Science Education Unit virtual rock kit Rocks